By Alexis Schofield
@redlineproject
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has seen a major shift in ridership in Dec. 2024. Despite overall continued reliance on both CTA buses and trains, ridership across the board is still far lower than before the pandemic.
Compared to Jan. 2020, ridership at CTA El stations has declined by 44.8%, while bus ridership has dropped by 29.7% — indicating that buses have recovered more effectively than trains in recent years. As a result, buses accounted for nearly two-thirds of total CTA ridership in Dec. 2024.
As of Dec. 2024, the most frequented El station was Lake/State, a Red Line stop with connections to elevated Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple lines. It was closely followed by O’Hare Airport (Blue Line) and Clark/Lake (Blue Line). Conversely, King Drive (Green Line) had the lowest ridership, likely due to its limited service operating only toward downtown.
Since the pandemic, buses have continued to service a higher volume of commuters, with the No. 66 Chicago route recording the highest ridership, followed by the No. 9 Ashland, No. 79 79th, and No. 8 Halsted bus routes. On the other hand, the least used bus was the No. 55A 55th/Austin route, which carried only 2,225 riders in Dec. 2024.
While total ridership still remains below pre-pandemic levels in Jan. 2020, bus usage has proven to be much more successful in adapting to changing commuter preferences. Meanwhile, El station ridership is likely to be a primary focus for the CTA to increase public transit usage in coming years.
